Gongxian Grottoes
The Gongxian Grottoes ( Chinese 鞏縣 石窟 / 巩县 石窟 , Pinyin Gǒngxiàn shíkū , English Gongxian Grottoes, Gongxian Cave Temple ) are a complex of Buddhist cave temples in the city of Gongyi Chinese 巩义 , Pinyin Gǒngyì (formerly: Gong xian Chinese 巩县 , Pinyin Gǒngxiàn "Gong County"), Henan Province, China. It is located 7.5 kilometers northeast of Gongxian on the north bank of the Southern Luo He ( 洛河 ).
The Gongxian grottoes are also known under the name Jingtu Monastery ( 净土 寺 , Jìngtǔ sì - " Pure Land Monastery").
There are five Buddhist grottoes from the Northern Wei Dynasty , the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty .
The first caves date from the beginning of the 6th century. The lower areas had been flooded with sand and mud from the river and have recently been restored. There are three large rock statues (moya daxiang 摩崖 大 像), a thousand Buddha niche (Qianfokan 千 佛龛) and 238 rock niches with a variety of sculptures (moya zaoyiang kan 崖 摩 造像 龛).
The artistic quality of the sculptures does not come close to that of the Longmen caves , the figures are of a more robust nature, but show a great variety of representational diversity: there are musicians, dancers and imperial processions, even a pair of figures with rabbit and monkey heads among those seated Buddhas.
The caves have a central pillar around which the prayers walked.
The cave temples have been on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China in Henan (2-11) since 1982 .
literature
- Henan sheng wenhuaju wenwu gongzuoruidui [Archaeological Working Group of the Henan Province Cultural Office]: Gongxian shiku si [Gongxian Cave Temple]. Beijing 1963
- Zhongguo da baike quanshu : Kaoguxue (Great Chinese Encyclopedia: Volume Archeology). Beijing: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe, 1986
- Gongxian shiku si . Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe 1989
Web links
- Gongxian Shiku Si - Chinese
Coordinates: 34 ° 48 ′ 48 ″ N , 113 ° 1 ′ 26 ″ E